Halloween is my favorite time of the year as a horror fan, as it is for so many of us. Growing up I was quite the opposite; everything freaked me out and some things left some lasting impressions on me. Right around my late teens things did a complete 180 and I began to love and appreciate the things I got spooked by as a kid, and this was amplified with my love of video game music that I had always retained. Thus my repertoire of beloved horror game music and game tracks is pretty extensive, ranging from classic horror genres to adventure and action games.
To pick the top five tracks that I deem the most fright-inducing is therefore a tough choice to make. I think I’ve narrowed it down to the ones that come to mind instantly when thinking of game music that immersed me the most within the macabre and the chilling (in no actual order), so take a look through and see if any of these make your own cut. (hehe)
Mondo has announced that they will be making available the fourth installment of their Castlevania vinyl series with the appropriate release of Super Castlevania IV.
Hi all – this week, in anticipation of the newly announced Netflix Original Series, we will be releasing the next chapter in our ongoing CASTLEVANIA soundtrack series! It’s one of our favorites of the series, and quite possibly one of our favorite video game soundtrack of all time: the Super Nintendo classic SUPER CASTLEVANIA IV.
Unlike the previous iterations of Castlevania music on the NES games, the soundtrack for Super Castlevania IV was able to utilize synthesized instrumentation to achieve a darker and more atmospheric soundtrack, as opposed to the punchier sounds of the NES sound chip. Released in 1991 and one of the first games released shortly after the launch of the SNES, Super Castlevania IV and it’s soundtrack are considered to be some of the franchise’s best work.
Video credited to scigamerfan07
Looking at this pre-release, I wish I could say I was excited for this album, but I’m really not. While I’ve been critical of Mondo’s artistic choices for the Castlevania albums in the past (I thought the Dracula’s Curse front cover was ridiculously hipster and trying too hard to be artsy rather than recognizable), this particular album art comes off looking lazy. For an officially-released and licensed video game soundtrack album, the artwork looks dull and cartoonish and does not at all mimic the dynamic design of the original game box art. The back cover might be a bit more detailed, but it doesn’t make up for the poor design choice of the front. It’s simply an opinion since the game features my favorite soundtrack of the whole franchise and this is an design critique, but I believe the art choice fails to do credit to the legacy that is Super Castlevania IV.
It also makes me curious that the composers for Super Castlevania IV, Masanori Adachi and Taro Kudo (under pseudonyms Sotaro Tojima and Masanori Oodachi), are not credited properly. All of the Mondo albums simply list Konami Kukeiha Club with the music credits, which was Konami’s catch-all group listing for their sound team used at the time of SCV4 and other Konami games so that their musicians wouldn’t be poached by other game companies. However composer credits are widely available these days, even on Wikipedia, so why not give credit where it’s due? One wonders if this is dictation from Konami as part of the licensing agreement, or perhaps something else. Hopefully it holds no baring on the quality of the music itself, which has been (appropriately) criticized in the past.
Mondo will be releasing its Super Castlevania IV June 21st at noon (CST) on 2x 180 Gram Bronze and Gold Split Vinyl (Limited to 1,000 Copies) – or – 2x 180 Gram Silver with Red Splatter for $30. They’re also have copies of the Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse vinyl back in stock. Mondo boasts one more installment in their Castlevania line with Symphony of the Night to be likely announced later this year.
Every Halloween, you can always expect a a good assortment of spooky-themed game music arrangement projects released to ring in the holiday season. Some sneak out right on the celebratory day itself and capitalize on all your October 31st activities. Here’s a few you may have missed:
Vampire Variations III
The third installment of the Castlevania-tribute project, VV3 dedicates itself to covering the entirety of one of the longer Classicvania OSTs, Super Castlevania 4. Backed by Overclocked Remix and directed again by Alexandre “Chernabogue” Mourey, the album features two disks and 24-tracks spanning the Super Nintendo title. You can grab the album free on the OCRemix page – Vampire Variations III.
Danse Macabre IV: Survival of the Fittest
Another sequel to a previously-created series of arrangement albums, the first three Danse Macabre albums were directed by Erik “Viking Guitar” Peabody and featured arrangements of horror-themes from across multiple media platforms such as movies and TV along with games. This time directed by Big Mat Attacks, Danse Macabre IV keeps itself contained to video game music only, touching upon themes from Clock Tower, FNaF and multiple Silent Hills. The album is Name Your Price and has a good lineup featured. (Disclaimer: I did volunteer the album artwork and won’t be receiving any compensation other than maybe a ‘Hey, that looks neat!”)
Notte Breve
A mini-album by tibone, Notte Breve features four tracks from Silent Hill, Ghosts ‘n Goblins, Ghost House and Alien Storm done up in a rock and progressive metal genre and only $1 for all. “The season have changed, there’s a chill in your spine, an uneasyness that grows bigger as the time passes. And one short night can change it all. ”
Did we miss some albums? What were your favorites? Let us know in the comments!
Ryan started Game Soundstracks for Your Soul; this little series of looking back at game soundtracks that go beyond mere admiration, but actually invoke powerful emotions and feelings and sing to the soul of the listener. Reading his articles, I knew exactly which game music soundtrack completely puts me into a serene trance every time I listen to it: Super Castlevania IV.
